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Air War Europe: Colditz, Dambusters & The Great Escape

Europe

Duration:9 days

Board Basis: Mixed Board

Tour Ref: D2TLEGGCZ

Holiday Summary

Travel Type: Coach

The war in the air above Europe saw the men of RAF Bomber Command taking the conflict to the heart of the enemy. In a new version of this popular tour we focus on the air war and examine three of its great stories: Colditz, the Dambusters Raid and the Grea

9 Day Tour from £849.00

PRICE FROM ?£879per person

PLEASE NOTE: Price is per person and based on two people sharing a twin/double room. Single room supplements and upgrades are not included.

What's Included

Itinerary

9-Day Tour

Day 1 – Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to Holland for an overnight stay.

Day 2 – We travel into Germany and visit Reichswald Forest War Cemetery – the biggest WWII British Cemetery in Europe, nearly half the 7,400 graves are men from Bomber Command. From here, we travel to the Möhne Dam in the Ruhr Valley and examine the daring attack by aircraft from 617 Squadron commanded by Guy Gibson. From the top of the dam we can see where the attack came in and understand what a daring raid it was. We also visit Eder Dam, another of the targets in Operation Chastise, before moving on to our overnight hotel in Jena.Breakfast

Day 3 – We visit the famous castle and museum at Colditz, a name forever associated with the story of Prisoners of War in WWII. Perched above the sleepy German town that gives the castle its name, we are able to go inside and explore, and hear the stories of Douglas Bader and Pat Reid, and the many Allied prisoners kept held here. We continue to our hotel in the Dresden area for two nights.Breakfast

Day 4 – We spend the morning in Dresden looking at the raid on the city in February 1945 which destroyed almost all of its original buildings and killed nearly 25,000 civilians. We see some of the surviving buildings including the Trinity Church and Frauenkirche, which stand as memorials to the bombing, and visit some of the mass graves of the casualties of the raid. In the afternoon, spend free time in Dresden or join us on an optional visit to the Bundeswehr Military History Museum which has an unparalled collection of WWII artefacts.Breakfast

Day 5 – We cross into Poland and visit Zagan where Stalag Luft III was located; an Allied Prisoner of War camp was built to hold nearly 10,000 prisoners, many of them air crew. Here in March 1944 the so-called 'Great Escape' took place, made famous in the Hollywood film, when 80 Allied servicemen got away. We look at the story of the escapers, visit the site of the camp and the tunnels they dug, and the memorial to those who were shot after the escape failed. We then continue to our hotel in Berlin for two nights.Breakfast

Day 6 – In Berlin we look at the raids on the city, starting at the impressive air force museum at Gatow, which has a large collection of aircraft from WW1 to the Cold War period. We then visit Berlin War Cemetery where many RAF Bomber Command crews are buried. Around the city we see Flak Tower defences and the air raid shelters used to protect Berliners from the bombs. In the evening, join us on an optional visit around Berlin’s WWII sights.Breakfast

Day 7 – We travel to Hannover and visit the air force museum which has some impressive WWII items as well as a memorial to Second World War air crew. In Hannover itself, we see some of the signs of the bombing raids, ending the day at Hannover War Cemetery with more than 2,000 graves of bomber crew casualties.Breakfast

Day 8 – We travel into Holland, stopping at Rheinberg War Cemetery where some of the Dambusters are buried. We end at the grave of Guy Gibson V.C. whose war ended when his Mosquito crashed at Steenbergen. We stay overnight in Belgium.Breakfast

Accommodation

You will stay overnight in Holland at the NH Koningshof in Veldhoven, near
Eindhoven, or similar, and the 4-star Best Western in Jena, then two nights at
the 3-star Ramada Resident Hotel or Hotel Azimut in Dresden, two nights at the 3-star
Tryp by Wyndham Berlin City East, or similar on the outskirts of Berlin, overnight at the 4-star H4 Hotel in Hannover, or similar and
finally overnight at a city-style hotel in Belgium.

You will stay overnight in Holland at the NH Koningshof in Veldhoven, near
Eindhoven, or similar, and the 4-star Best Western in Jena, then two nights at
the 3-star Ramada Resident Hotel or Hotel Azimut in Dresden, two nights at the 3-star
Tryp by Wyndham Berlin City East, or similar on the outskirts of Berlin, overnight at the 4-star H4 Hotel in Hannover, or similar and
finally overnight at a city-style hotel in Belgium.